Black Bean Burgers

One of my coworkers has brought these in a number of times, and this past weekend Jeremy and I decided to give them a try. I must say they are quite tasty, and I can see what all the hype is about. We adapted this recipe from AllRecipes. We also doubled the recipe so that I could take them to work (recipe below is not doubled, only what is in the pictures). However, we either added too much oatmeal, or they just don't stand the test of time all that well, but they start getting rather crumbly. By Thursday, it was easier just to eat them with rice then try to make a burger out of it.

Black bean burger on Udi bun with Tofutti American Cheese

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch slices
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (or 3 cloves)
1/4 cup egg beaters (or 1 egg)
1 Tbps chili powder
1 Tbps cumin
1 tsp Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2-1 cup oatmeal (we used old fashioned oats, but quick oats might work better)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a baking sheet with non-spray. We also foiled the pans for easy clean up.

We rinsed our beans by dumping the can(s) into a large strainer and washing them until the water ran clean. Then shake them dry and mash in a medium bowl with a potato masher or fork until thick and pasty.

Put the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Dump the mixture into a strainer and drain some of the liquid out. Once drained, added to the mashed beans and mix together.

In a separate bowl stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. After it is well mixed add to the bean mixture. Add 1/2 a cup of oatmeal and mix until it is sticky and holds together, add extra oatmeal as necessary.

Divide the mixture into approximately 4 patties. (Our double batch made 10 patties.)

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven, flip patties, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

ENJOY!